The Face of Jizo

"To die in Hiroshima was the natural thing to do. To survive here is unnatural."

Three years after the atomic blast destroyed the city, a young librarian, Mitsue grapples with the guilt of having survived. One evening, she returns home from work to find that her concerned father has paid her an unexpected visit.

Will he be able to help Mitsue to lay her ghosts to rest?

An exploration of love, survival and finding happiness, The Face of Jizo is a masterpiece of postwar drama from Japan's leading theatrical voice.

Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
 You would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by Mitsue's tragic story.

Sam Marlowe, The Times
 Hisashi Inouefs play has never before been performed in English, and the Ichiza theatre company and the Arcola deserve credit for bringing it to the London stage.
 Togo Igawafs delicate production is full of charm.
 Mamoru Iriguchifs origami-style set emphasises the fragility of human life in the face of monstrous, man-made forces of destruction.

Caroline McGinn, Time Out
 Noriko Sakura brings inwardness and sensitivity to Mitsue and Eiji Kusuhara is humane as her father.

Haward Loxton, The British Theatre Guide
 Eiji Kusuhara finds a delicate gentleness for this devoted daddy without losing any of his sense of comedy. Noriko Sakura is enchanting. Her formal demeanour breaks into delightful smiles and you can see into her heart and she carries of a description of horrors with skilled restraint.